Moving Out or Moving In?
by Lelo07
Summary: Kensi is faced with a major dilemma regarding her living situation. What happens when Deeks makes an offer that could be the solution to her problems? Takes place before the season 4 finale. DENSI! Now COMPLETED!
1. Offers

**I came up with his idea while moving into my new bedroom at home. Sorry, I know I should be working on my other stories before starting a new one, but this may just be a one shot. I'll let you guys decide!**

Kensi couldn't believe this. This would only happen to her. She felt like she'd been cursed or something with all the bad luck she'd been having lately.

She arrived at OSP earlier than she normally would, trying to see if she could catch Hetty before the arrival of the rest of her team, but to no avail. It seemed Hetty was off tending to some other business, so Kensi started on a few reports so that she'd possibly be able to leave early tonight.

Her phone started vibrating; she knew who it was before she even picked it up. "Sorry Deeks, I should have texted you earlier. I'm already at OSP." She said quickly knowing he was probably already on his way to her house to pick her up.

"What? Why? Is everything okay? Are you…" his concern for his partner

"Relax Deeks everything's fine. Or at least it will be once I talk to Hetty." As usual the sneaky ninja seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Speak to me about what, Ms. Blye?" Hetty Asked.

"About wh.." Deeks started to question.

"Sorry, Deeks, I've got to go!" Kensi said quickly, standing up to talk to Hetty.

She followed Hetty over to her office where they both took a seat. "I had this taped to my door this morning. Is there anything you can do?" Kensi asked handing her boss the paper.

"Hmmm… I'm afraid not Ms. Blye. It seems as if we'll need to start searching for new housing for you immediately."

Kensi deflated in her chair. According to the short note she had received this morning, her property, along with several others, had recently been purchased with the intent of demolishing to construct a new major road. This was supposedly her third notice, but she'd never seen one before today. She had a little over a week to get out of her apartment and into another, which was going to be near impossible with the ever nearing holiday season. Christmas was just days away and many of the people needed to make this possible would already be on vacation.

"I'll have Ms. Jones see what she can find, but if all else fails; we can always offer you a safe house until we can find you a new place."

"Thank you, Hetty." Kensi said as she stood to return to her desk where her partner was now waiting.

"What's up?" He asked as he offered her a donut and coffee and took a seat next to her. Hetty had recently swapped his and Callen's desks to make it easier for partners to work on case files together.

"I have to find a new place in less than a week. My place is being demolished to build a new road and with Christmas just around the corner, it's going to be difficult. Hetty said if we can't find anything that she'd let me stay in a safe house, but I really hope it doesn't come to that. They're all at least thirty minutes out from OSP and that's with light traffic." She informed Deeks as they both sat down.

She looked at Deeks when he made the motion to say something then obviously decided against it. "What were you going to say?"

"Nothing, it's a stupid idea."

"Seriously, Deeks, I'm willing to do anything right now. As long as you don't suggest I just move into OSP I'll consider it."

"I was just going to say you could stay at my place if you wanted. I have a spare room… and if you wouldn't mind being with me 24/7 then it could probably work, but I could see why you wouldn't… I mean obviously we're already around each other most of the day.. and.." He would've continued rambling if she hadn't stopped him.

"Deeks! It's okay, it actually might work… I just don't know what I'd do with everything. Most of my furniture would have to stay I think because the apartment came furnished.. but you know how much stuff I have. I don't know where I'd put it all."

"It's okay, we can figure that out later. You just need to get it out of your house right now. I can live with a bunch of boxes for a little while. It's only going to be temporary."

"Right, yeah.. Okay, this might work. Thank you, Deeks!" Kensi said as she pulled Deeks into an extremely uncharacteristic hug. 


	2. Packing

"What's going on?" Callen asked as he and his partner took their seats.

"Deeks is letting me stay with him until I find a new place. Mine's being demolished and I have to be out in a few days."

"Why?" Sam asked. Kensi explained the whole situation again to her teammates.

"Do you need help moving? I mean a week isn't very long to get everything out." Sam offered.

"Yeah that would actually be great! I don't want to keep you guys from anything though with the holidays and everything."

"No need to worry about that, Ms. Blye, I'm giving you all a few paid days off to go help Ms. Blye. Consider this your Christmas present." Hetty said from the top of the steps.

With that, everyone left the building and immediately headed over to Kensi's place. Upon arrival, Kensi and Deeks tackled her bedroom while Sam and Callen took the living room.

"Why'd you want me to help in here? I mean I figured you'd want Callen or Sam to help in here.. let's face it; they're much less likely to make some of the comments we both know I'm going to make when we find some of your more intimate items." Deeks asked as they started folding the items from her closet and putting them into boxes.

"I don't know, I guess it's just less awkward for you to see some of my more… personal… items than it would be for them. I mean, Sam's married, so it would just be kind of awkward. And Callen's like my big brother and it would just be kind of embarrassing for both of us. And it's not like you haven't seen any of it before…" She said, alluding to when he'd checked her bruised ribs in her mother's garage; which required the removal of her shirt.

"Yeah, I guess you have a point." He agreed.

"Plus, it's not like you're not going to see all of this stuff in your laundry room anyway. I am going to have to wash clothes while I'm at your place." Kensi reminded him.

"Ha! We both know what that means! It means your laundry will somehow find its way mixed in with mine so that you don't have to wash anything!" Deeks remarked, bringing back the banter.

"Well you do still owe me a month's worth of laundry…"

"So does that mean you're going to be helping with the cooking and the cleaning or…"

"In your dreams!" Kensi quickly replied. "Do you really want me to cook?"

"Ah, nevermind. I'd rather not get food poisoning. Now that I think about it , why am I not charging you rent for this? I mean you're going to get free culinary masterpieces, free laundry, free housekeeping…"

"Because you're the best partner ever." Kensi replied with an honest look and a smile that he was certain she saved just for him.

"Yeah, there is that." He grinned back at her. Then he had a realization as he took another armful of clothes out of her closet. "Kens, my spare room is meant to be an office so there's no closet in there…"

"I've seen your closet, Its huge and you have almost nothing in it. Unless, you know, you want more privacy than that, which is okay, I can just leave them in the boxes until.."

"No, no, no its fine, I just didn't think of it before! Yeah, that should work. I may have to rearrange some things so you can have like half or something."

"No, don't go changing anything for me. I'll just fit my stuff around yours and whatever doesn't fit can stay in boxes. I'm not going to need it all out anyway. Hopefully I'll only be there a few weeks so most of my clothes can stay packed away. And we don't even have to work until after New Year's Eve so most of my work clothes won't even need unpacked until then."

"Okay, hey look it's time to move on to the fun part!" Deeks said as they started on the drawers. Kensi obviously tensed as he seemed to automatically find the drawer with her less than professional clothing items.

"Wow, maybe this isn't a good idea, I mean how am I ever going to look at you again without wondering if you're wearing this or this or, oh wow, this.." He trailed off as he continued to pull out her bras and panties. She made her way over and started on another drawer.

Of course his comments kept coming but soon the drawer was empty so he had to move on. It seemed like it had only been an hour or so when they were taping shut the last box in her room. Kensi looked at the time on her watch and realized it was already after two.

"Hey, do you guys want to order a pizza or something? We kind of lost track of time." Kensi said as she looked around and was pleasantly surprised at the progress being made.

"No, I think we're just about done here. Do you mind if we head out? We left you're bathroom and some of the more personal items for you to pack."

"No that's fine! I really appreciate you guys helping out. I couldn't have done it on my own." Kensi said as she gave each of them a quick side hug.

"No problem. Merry Christmas guys!" Sam said as he walked out the door.

An exchange of farewells and holiday wishes later and Kensi and Deeks found themselves alone.

"Do you want to order something?" Kensi asked as she picked up the phone.

"Sure, whatever you want." Deeks replied.

With that Kensi made the call to their favorite Mexican delivery joint and went back to work, starting in her bathroom. Deeks started moving the boxes out of her bedroom and into the living room so that it would be easier to load them into the moving truck that was coming in the morning. 


	3. Reminiscing

"Hey Kens?" Deeks called to her.

"What?"

"How come you don't have any Christmas decorations up? I mean tomorrow's Christmas Eve."

There was silence for a few seconds before she came out of the bathroom with a box of stuff. "I don't usually decorate for Christmas. I mean it's just me so it's just a lot of work."

"But…" Deeks didn't even know what to say to that. It was true, they didn't really have a reason to put up Christmas decorations. It was rare that they even had any days off until Christmas day, and that was if they were lucky.

"Exactly." Kensi said as she walked back to the bathroom to pick up another box.

"Are you doing anything with your mom this year?" Deeks asked as she brought out the next load.

"No, she goes up to Seattle to visit with family, and yes, we do actually have family there. I just haven't seen them in over 15 years and I don't really feel like intruding. Plus, I didn't know I'd be getting to take off work for the holidays."

"Oh, well, as long as you don't have any other plans, you could join me at the soup kitchen tomorrow night like last year? And then I usually go to a Christmas Eve service at this church down the street from my house. You don't have to come if you don't want to."

"No, that actually sounds really nice. Thanks, Deeks."

"No problem, partner." Deeks said as he threw his arm around her shoulder. Their eyes locked and it seemed like there was some unbreakable connection between their pupils, well that was until the doorbell rang.

"I'll just… Umm…" Kensi stammered as she pointed to the door.

"Yeah… Uh right…." Deeks replied. They broke eye contact as Kensi walked away and grabbed the food. They had to eat it in her bedroom as it was the only area clear of boxes.

"So what type of apartment are you looking for?" Deeks questioned as they dug into their favorite burritos and tacos.

"I don't really know.. I want to be close to OSP, but I was spoilt with this one. I don't think I'll be able to find one this close again."

"Yeah, no more stealing rides from me I guess." Deeks tried to joke but they both knew they'd miss their morning commute together. While the ride itself was only about ten minutes, they usually drug it out by having breakfast together, sometimes even stopping at a diner somewhere along the way. It had been a great way to start the day and just be themselves. They didn't have anything from work to focus on as they sometimes did after hours.

"Yeah… I guess." Kensi said, equally unenthused. "I guess other than that there's not much else I need. Even a small one bedroom with a study like this house would be fine. I really could care less about the bathroom and kitchen, as long as the living room is a decent size for movie nights."

"Yeah I wouldn't want to have to give those up too! We could always have them at my place though."

"I have a better TV.." Kensi reminded him

"I just bought a new one, and not to brag, but it might just be better than yours. Black Friday sales were pretty good to me this year."

"What, those awful shirts you bought?" Kensi asked referring to his new flannel plaid shirts he'd purchased.

"I know you love them. Plus, I bought more of my cologne that I know you also would miss if I didn't wear." Deeks said knowing he'd gotten this one right. Kensi merely averted her eyes.

"So what do you say we get back to work?" Kensi asked as she picked up the garbage and stuffed it into the quickly filling garbage bag.

They moved out to her living room and started taking her small mementos she'd collected since she was young. Deeks looked at a new picture he'd never seen before. It was a picture of a little girl with braided pigtails wearing a blue plaid shirt, boys jeans and work boots holding a saw while her father, dressed in the same attire, kneeled next to her with his arm around her as they stood in front of a Christmas tree.

"Is this you're dad?" Deeks asked as his eyes were still glued on the little girl from his position sitting on the floor.

"Yeah, my mom gave that to me a few weeks ago at thanksgiving dinner. She said I was about seven in that picture." Kensi came over and stood next to him looking at the picture. They both had gentle smiles on their faces, Kensi at the memories, Deeks at the innocence his partner had as a small child.

"You were a daddy's girl, weren't you?" Deeks asked.

Kensi sat down next to him. "Definitely, my mom had the roughest time with that. She wanted a little girl who would play with dolls and tea sets, while I was more interested in climbing trees and playing sports." Kensi said looking up at him as she placed the picture carefully into the box.

"You were an adorable kid." Deeks said taking one last look at the picture in the box she now held between them.

"Just as a kid, Deeks?" She teased.

"Well, I mean, obviously you're not bad looking now. At all, I mean you're… you're just…." Deeks stammered and Kensi let out one of her genuine laughs at his rambling. Deeks paused and looked into his partners eyes, "you're perfect, Kens. I don't know how else to describe you."

Kensi's laughing stopped as she looked at him, completely stunned by his honest opinion of her. "no I'm not, I have just as many issues as the next person."

"Yeah, I know, everyone has their own baggage. I had my awful childhood, you've had your fair share of misfortunes and even through all of our trust issues we both turned out to be rather great partners. And honestly, Kens, you're pretty perfect to me. You're smart, funny; although that's sometimes questionable." Kensi punched his arm, as she'd deposited the box next to her so it wasn't between them anymore. They'd both gravitated so that they were sitting closer and angled towards each other at this point. "But you're also one of the strongest, most determined, people I've ever met. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't admire you from the start… maybe even tried a little too hard sometimes to impress you…" Kensi let out a little giggle at that, remembering the beginning of their partnership and his attempts to flirt and impress her with everything. "and you're beautiful. I don't think I've ever met another girl who I can even compare to you." 


	4. Moving

Kensi's jaw dropped as he finished his little spiel. Nobody had ever told her something like this before.

"Wh.. I.. I… wow, Deeks, I.. um… Thank you." Kensi struggled to find words as his words sunk in. She thought about what they implied and how he had called her beautiful. A soft blush crept up her neck and onto her cheeks. Sure she'd been called pretty, good-looking, and even he himself had called her hot before, but beautiful seemed so much more intimate.

"You're welcome, but you don't really need to thank me, I'm just speaking the truth." Deeks said looking at her seriously.

"I hope you know how much I do appreciate you Deeks. You're the most stable thing in my life and I honestly don't know what I would do without you. You're by far the best partner I've ever had and I definitely consider you my best friend in the same sense, even though that kind of sounds a little juvenile, it's true. I trust you with almost everything and that's something that doesn't come easily to me." Kensi said as she looked into his eyes. Neither of them noticed how close they had come to each other. Deeks' arm was now supporting himself behind her as they both leaned towards each other since they were still sitting side by side.

"You're a great partner too Kens, and I don't care if it sounds juvenile, you're the best friend I've ever had too." He smiled at her and she quickly returned it. Deeks slowly stood up and offered her a hand which she surprisingly took and she stood up as well.

"I guess we should finish up in here. Where are you sleeping tonight? We packed up your bedding already."

"I was just planning on sleeping on the couch or something. It's not like I've never done it before." Kensi replied. They quickly packaged the remaining items and set the boxes by the door. Kensi pulled a blanket and pillow she had set aside off of a box and got ready for bed. Deeks announced he'd be back around eight to help her pack up the moving truck that Hetty was going to be sending over.

After turning off all of the lights and lying down, Kensi started thinking about everything that was going to be happening. She started worrying she was putting too much pressure on Deeks with this whole housing situation they were in and she quickly picked up her phone and dialed his number.

"Hey, Kens, miss me already?" She could hear his smile through the phone.

"Yeah, I'm just… Are you really okay with me living with you? I mean I feel like it was a spur of the moment decision and I sort of forced it out of you… Are you 100% sure this will work?"

"I'm sure, Kens, everything will be fine. It's not going to be all that different. I mean how many times a week do we end up at one of our houses until at least midnight?"

"Probably at least four nights a week."

"Exactly. And how long are you awake after you get home?"

"Not long, I usually just shower and go straight to bed."

"Same here. And I know I usually wake you up in the morning when I call to tell you I'm on my way meaning you are only up for about twenty minutes before I get there. We already spend practically every waking moment together, this really won't be much of a change. The only difference will be that instead of driving home, we'll just go to our respective rooms. I mean, unless you want to join me.. that option always open…" Deeks added.

"I think I'll pass on that last offer, but thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you. Goodnight Deeks."

"Goodnight Kensi."

Kensi rolled over on the sofa and found sleep much easier now that she wasn't stressed about tomorrow anymore.

_DING! DING! DING! _

_KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!_

_DING! KNOCK!_

"KENSI! GET UP! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" Deeks called through the door. He continued to knock and ring the doorbell obsessively until the door was partially opened, then pushed the button one more time for good measure. He was greeted by the very grumpy and tired face of his stunning partner.

"You know you're very annoying, sometimes, right?" Kensi asked as she shuffled back inside so they could get started moving everything onto the truck that was pulling into the driveway.

"How could I forget, I have you to remind me of it every single day!" He said in an annoyingly cheery voice.

Kensi just rolled her eyes and started carrying boxes out to the truck. Between them and the three movers, it only took an hour and a half to load everything in. Kensi followed the moving truck that was following Deeks to his house. They quickly unloaded as much of the boxes into the spare room as was possible and stored the rest in the corner of the dining room that he seldom used.

"Wow, I'm not looking forward to moving all of that again in a few weeks." Kensi said as they collapsed on his couch with ice cold beers and some popcorn and started looking for a Christmas movie that was on. They finally settled on _It's a Wonderful Life._

Halfway through, Deeks noticed her head drop onto his shoulder and looking down he was surprised she was not asleep, but just making herself comfortable. He casually maneuvered his arm so it was around her and she curled even further into his chest, resting her head above his heart.

When the movie was over they decided to get ready to go over to the shelter to start serving dinner during the early shift so that they'd have enough time to get home and change before heading to a Christmas Eve service. 


	5. Christmas Eve (Part 1)

The workers at the shelter were thrilled to see the two of them again this year for Christmas. Marsha, the older lady who always greeted Deeks and now Kensi with such enthusiasm and handed out the hats, pulled Deeks aside as Kensi walked past.

"So… Has this been going on for a while?" She asked curiously.

"Nah, there's not even anything going on. We're just partners and friends." Deeks replied.

"Mmm hmm… I don't believe that for one second, hun, but I'll let it slide this time." Marsha patted him on the shoulder and adjusted the hat on his head before returning to greeting everyone.

Deeks walked over and joined Kensi to serve the mashed potatoes. "What was that about?"

"oh, that was nothing." Deeks replied quickly. Kensi simply gave him the look that told him she didn't believe him.

"Marsha's known me forever, my mom and I used to come down here so she's a little nosy about my personal life." Deeks replied smiling.

"What did she want to know?"

"About us…" He replied and her head quickly turned to him so fast that he was worried she'd have whiplash.

"What about 'us'?"

"What we were… relationship wise."

"And what did you tell her?"

"We were just partners and friends. I mean there's no use lying to her, she'd see right through me."

"Oh, yeah." Kensi agreed.

They continued to serve and converse with the people passing through the line until their shift was over then headed back to Deeks' house to change and go to a service.

Kensi had asked on the way back if they could go to the church she'd gone to as a child. Of course Deeks was fine with that.

Kensi dressed in a strapless, shimmery, dark red dress. It was draped and mostly fitted then flowed out a little before reaching her knees. She fixed some of her curls and then pulled some of it to the side with a clip. She put on some makeup, more than usual, but not over the top and headed out of the bathroom to go see if Deeks was ready, slipping her black heels on as she walked out of the room.

He opened his bedroom door just as she was nearing it. He did a double take and she stopped in her tracks. He was wearing a dark red button up with a black vest, tie, pants, and shoes. He looked amazing.

"Wow, Kens… you… you look beautiful." He said as she continued to step towards him and he stepped out of his room completely and closed the door. They were now standing close to each other, Kensi's heels making them about the same height.

"You look really nice too, Deeks." Kensi said quietly as she fixed his tie. They smiled at each other before Deeks held his arm out and was surprised when she accepted it. They both grabbed a jacket to leave in the car in case it was cold when the service was over and headed out to the car.

They arrived at the First United Methodist Church of Los Angeles. Kensi looked around in awe. "It's so much bigger than it used to be."

"Come on, let's go find seats." Deeks said quickly exiting the car and walking around to let Kensi out. She smiled as she stepped out of her car. She'd decided to let Deeks drive this time.

Kensi paused for a second as she stepped out and Deeks closed the door. She looked over at Deeks who held his arm out again but she decided not to take it this time; instead she grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers. His smile was worth the brief moment she worried he would pull back. She looked back up and slowed as they neared the entrance that hadn't changed since the last time she was there. The same flame and cross stained glass on the big window above the doors, a large Christmas tree inside the doors in the small lobby area.

"Something wrong, Princess?" Deeks asked as they stopped.

"I was just remembering the last time I was here. I think I was about eight or nine. My mom and dad brought me here. We were actually Catholic, but they liked the atmosphere and child friendliness of this church, so we started attending it soon after we moved here. The last time I was here was actually a Christmas eve service, my dad was set to move to San Francisco in early January so we came one last time on Christmas to say goodbye to everyone. I remember holding both of my parents' hands, being so excited about Christmas. I was still at the age where I believed in Santa and the whole holiday was magical. I can kind of feel that excitement again tonight for the first time since then. That was the last year my dad was home for Christmas and I stopped believing in Santa the next year so the holiday lost most of the fun and excitement for me."

"What's different about this year?" Deeks asked as they started walking towards the church again.

"I don't know, it's just different… maybe it's just being with you." Kensi said looking him directly in the eye.

"Really?" Deeks asked. He saw a glimmer in her eye knowing some sarcastic remark was coming to hide her confession of enjoying being with him.

"Yeah, it's probably just from being around you. They say kids are the heart of the Christmas season, and you've obviously never grown up."

"Obviously." Deeks said as they walked through the doors. They walked up to an usher at one of the doors leading into the massive sanctuary. It was extremely modern with big screens and televisions on the walls so that everyone could clearly see the service. They each took a program and a candle with a cup around it to prevent wax drippings from the ushers and proceeded down the isle toward the front of the church. They were still holding hands when they sat down in a pew. They were almost an hour early, since they didn't know if it would be a ten or eleven o'clock service. Kensi was looking around when suddenly she met a familiar set of eyes. 


	6. Christmas Eve (Part 2)

"Kensi?" The woman asked causing Deeks to turn towards the woman and her male company who were now making their way to sit next to them in the pew.

"Jamie? It's been so long!" Kensi said as they exchanged a brief hug. Kensi noticed the baby carrier the man was holding.

"This is my husband, Oliver, and my daughter, Lexus."

"This is Marty, my boyfriend." She noticed Deeks momentarily stiffen next to her. Probably from her using his first name and calling him her boyfriend.

"How old is she?" Deeks asked as Oliver handed Jamie the baby.

"She's only six weeks old." Jamie answered. She must have noticed both of the guys still trying to figure out how she and Kensi knew each other. "Kens and I were best friends when we were little. We were in the same grade and both lived on base. My dad was in the military too." She quickly explained. "Here, Kensi, why don't you hold her?" Jamie said already transferring the baby to Kensi's arms causing her to pull her hand from Deeks that had ended up in her lap and she noticed they were now sitting so close their thighs were touching.

"Oh.. I don't know…" But the little girl was already in her arms before she could refuse. Deeks put his arm up behind her and turned slightly closer to get a better look at the baby.

"She's cute, looks a lot like you." Deeks said looking at Jamie. The baby started fussing and he saw Kensi starting to panic a little. "hey there, what's the matter Lexus..." Deeks said using the cliché baby voice to talk to her. He let the infant grab his finger and she seemed to calm.

"Wow, you're a natural. She usually doesn't like strangers." Oliver complimented Deeks.

Kensi and Deeks made eye contact, their faces being only a few inches apart now as Kensi still cradled the baby that was holding his finger.

Kensi felt a spark of something deep inside her and felt something she hadn't in a long time. Her breath hitched and she quickly broke eye contact and shifted to hand the infant back to her friend. They all continued to talk until the service started.

It was a traditional candlelight service. Christmas hymns such as The First Noel, Oh Holy Night, Oh Little Town of Bethlehem, Away in a Manger, and then they sang Silent Night as the candle light was spread through the church.

During the second verse of Silent Night Deeks' hand reached down and found Kensi's and he was surprised when she leaned closer, so when they stood for the last verse, he removed his hand and wrapped his arm around her waist to rest his hand on her hip. She smiled up to him and he, not knowing where the boldness was coming from, pressed a soft kiss to her temple.

He looked down at her as she rested her head against his shoulder and thought he'd never seen anything more beautiful. The candlelight cast shadows and highlighted her unique features like her high cheekbones, mismatched eyes, and her lips that he'd often thought of kissing but always restrained himself from doing.

The hymn ended and the pastor said his closing prayer. The lights turned on and everyone blew out their candles and gathered their belongings as the organ played some more Christmas music. Deeks noticed Kensi didn't pull away from him when the lights came back on like he had expected. He looked down and smiled at her, she returned the smile and stepped away slowly before grabbing his hand.

"Kensi, do you remember Pastor Ron?" Jamie asked.

"Vaguely, he was the one who always read us stories during Sunday School and gave us snacks, right?" Kensi asked.

"Yeah, I remember that too. He's sitting up in the front row, I'm sure he'd be happy to see you again. He always asks me if I've heard from you. I guess he and our dads were pretty close. He retired a few years ago but still is here for every service."

"Sure." Kensi agreed. She and Deeks followed her friend up to the front pew to talk to Pastor Ron.

"Pastor Ron, I found Kensi." Jamie said as she approached him.

"That's wonderful, Jamie. How is she doing?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Jamie said as she stepped aside and gestured to Kensi. Deeks dropped her hand as the old man stood up to hug her.

"Kensi! It's wonderful to see you again. You've grown up a little since the last time I saw you, but you're still as pretty as you always were. I think this is the first time I've seen you in a dress, what happened to my little tomboy?" Pastor Ron teased.

"I guess I grew out of that phase." Kensi said and laughed a little.

"And who is this?" He asked looking at Deeks.

"This is Marty Deeks, my boyfriend." Kensi said sticking to the same story. Deeks stepped forward then and placed a hand on her lower back as he shook the retired pastor's hand. His hand stayed where it was when he stepped back a little to be next to her.

"Nice to meet you, Marty." Pastor Ron said. They continued to chat for a few more minutes before heading out into the cool LA night air.

"Well, I'm glad we came here now. Did you enjoy it?" Deeks asked as they walked out to the car.

"Yes, it was nice to catch up with some old friends. I'm glad Pastor Ron is still around, I'll have to keep in touch." Kensi said.

"Yeah, now.. boyfriend? Really?" Deeks asked.

**Let me know what you think in that little comment box down below! You know which one I mean ;)**


	7. Christmas Eve (Part 3)

"I.. Uh, well I didn't really want to have to explain what we do for a living… and 'partner' sounds a little strange so I improvised." Kensi answered as they climbed into her car. She hopes she covered it up well enough, but knowing him, he'll still see right through her.

"Right, and uh the whole hand-holding and PDA stuff in there?" Deeks asked, honestly curious.

"Well, we had to make it believable, right?"

"But you started that before we entered the church." Deeks reminded her.

Kensi was starting to feel cornered, which Deeks knew must be done carefully if he didn't want her to block him out with another wall.

"Well did you have a problem with it?" She asked becoming defensive.

"No, not at all, it was actually….. It was actually kind of nice." Deeks replied rather softly. Kensi looked down at their hands which were resting only an inch away from each other on the divider. Deeks followed her gaze and then turned his hand over so that his palm was up and fingers were spread apart.

Kensi panicked for a moment then realized this was just Deeks and he wasn't going to hurt her. She looked up and met his gaze as she placed her hand on top of his and they both curled their fingers. Kensi offered a sweet, shy smile to him that he returned.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. Not an uncomfortable silence, but a silence where they were both just trying to figure out where this was going.

They pulled up to Deeks apartment and simultaneously released hands. After exiting the car, they walked into the living room.

"Hey, Kens… I know you don't usually decorate for Christmas, but I still haven't put any ornaments on my tree if you'd like to help." Deeks offered.

"Uh, sure… Just let me go change and I'll be right back." Kensi said as she headed back to her temporary room. She had to open a few boxes before she found her pajamas. She slipped on a tight v neck cotton shirt that was bright red with a pair of dark green flannel pajama pants. She figured she might as well try to stay in the Christmas spirit for Deeks. She let her curls fall down from the pins she'd placed and decided her hair didn't look too bad and just let it fall loosely around her shoulders. She opened her bedroom door and was about to walk out of the room when a box caught her eye.

It was a box of Christmas decorations her mother had given her that they used when she was a girl. She had yet to actually open the box. She picked up the box and placed it on the bed, pulling out her knife again.

Slicing through the tape seemed to make time stand still for a moment. She paused for a moment before opening up the box. Her hand flew up to her mouth as she let out a small gasp when she saw the item on the top.

It was her stocking from when she was younger. She remembered always running to open it first so that she could work her way into the bigger presents. That, and the candy was usually in the stocking. She'd always had a sweet tooth.

Kensi ran her fingers over the quilt like material of the stocking. There was a snowman on it and the main color of it was dark blue. There were stars in the sky above the snowman and her name was embroidered on the red part at the top. She remembered her mom's mother made this for her when she was just a baby. She felt something down in the toe of the stocking. She reached in and found a small box wrapped in paper. The tag indicated it was from her dad.

Deeks walked in noticing Kensi was taking too long to just be changing. He saw the tears in her eyes and the present in her hand.

"Kens, is everything okay?" He asked from the door. She turned around and nodded. He walked up beside her to see what she was looking at.

"My mom gave me this stuff a little while ago and I hadn't looked at it yet. I just found this in my stocking. It's from my dad. I must have missed it when I was younger." Kensi was really fighting to keep the tears at bay now.

"Oh, Kens." Deeks said as he wrapped his arms around her. He heard her sniffling and could tell she was crying, but knew she wouldn't want him to see so he just held her. He ran his hand through her hair; it was just as soft as he always had imagined it would be.

He felt her calm after a minute or so and she pulled away slightly. They each kept an arm around each other and looked down at the box. "Do you want to put up some of that stuff? I don't mind, I don't really have any heirloom decorations… my place usually looks like a department store Christmas display. It would be nice to have some of this stuff up." Deeks said.

"Yeah, I guess it would be kind of nice to have some of this stuff up again." Kensi said as she looked through the box a little more.

"Okay then, come on what are you waiting for! We have to finish before Santa gets here!" Deeks said with so much enthusiasm that Kensi couldn't help but laugh. These were the moments she was glad he had the sense of humor he did.

Deeks picked up the box and took it to the living room and put it on the coffee table next to his box of ornaments. Kensi explained the significance of the ornaments as they pulled them out. There was one of a bike for the year she learned how to ride one, one for the year she and her dad went camping for the first time that looked like a little tent, and many others. She had fifteen of them, one for every year as a kid until her dad died.

After they'd finished with the tree, it was nearing midnight. Deeks made them some peppermint hot chocolate and a small cookie tray to snack on while they finished decorating.

"It looks really great, Deeks." Kensi said looking at their work after they were finished.

"Yeah, it does. Now we should probably go to bed so we aren't too tired tomorrow. I invited the team over for lunch." Deeks said as they picked up their cups and took them to the kitchen.

"Alright, goodnight Deeks." Kensi said as she started to walk back towards her room.

"Wait a second, Kens!" Kensi paused outside his door. He walked up to her, she was giving him a puzzled look. He pointed up and she looked. There above his door was mistletoe hanging from the ceiling. She slowly looked back down to meet his eyes.

"Really?" Kensi asked as he moved a little closer. She started to feel butterflies in her stomach then decided 'why not?' and closed the distance between them, startling Deeks at first, but he quickly recovered and kissed her back.

After a few seconds they both pulled back and said goodnight again before heading into their respective bedrooms. Kensi waited about fifteen minutes, hearing Deeks head back out of his room once, before getting into the box in the corner of her room that she had made sure he didn't see. This year, she had remembered to get him a few things. She quickly took them out to the tree and put them underneath, surprised to see there were already a few other presents underneath it for her.

**Once again, please review!**


	8. Christmas Day (Part 1)

Kensi awoke on Christmas morning to the smell of bacon and pancakes cooking. She made a quick stop at the bathroom, not even caring that her hair was a mess at this point. Deeks didn't care.

"Merry Christmas, Princess!" Deeks said as she approached him.

Kensi just smiled at him instead of correcting him for using another nickname. "Good morning, Deeks."

"Breakfast is almost ready, why don't you go take a seat." He said as he took the bacon and pancakes off the stove and put them onto plates. The table was already set with strawberries, whipped cream, syrup, powdered sugar, and chocolate chips. There were two glasses of orange juice also waiting for them.

"You didn't have to do all of this, Deeks." Kensi said as they sat down.

"Of course I did! It's Christmas… And it looks like Santa even came! We must have been good this year!" Kensi giggled at his childish antics.

They finished their breakfast and made their way over to the tree. "Deeks, you didn't have to get me anything."

"I know I didn't have to, I wanted to though." Deeks said as he handed her a present. It was a smallish box that fit in her hand. She picked up a slightly larger box and handed it to him.

"Really, you bought me a present? I thought you already gave me what I've wanted my whole life more than anything else in the world?" Deeks said referring to the box that was still sitting on the file cabinet at OSP.

"Yeah, well I wanted to get you something else. It may not be able to top that, but I think you'll like it."

"Okay… on three. One…" Deeks started

"Two…" Kensi continued.

"Three!" They both said at the same time and started opening their presents.

Kensi looked at the white box that was now in her hand. She opened it and her jaw dropped, inside was a beautiful necklace with a red stone set in an intricate aged silver charm. Kensi looked at Deeks who still hadn't quite finished opening his present. He was anxiously waiting for her reaction.

"Deeks… It's beautiful… you really didn't have to. It must have cost a fortune!" Kensi said.

"No, it didn't. It was actually my grandmother's necklace. My grandpa gave it to her when they started dating and my mom gave it to me when I was younger and told me that I'd know when it was the right time to give it to someone. I kind of forgot about it until a month ago when I found it in one of the boxes of stuff that's been in storage for a long time."

"No, Deeks. I can't take this."

"Yes you can, Kens. Here…" Deeks crawled over and took the necklace from her. He moved behind her and put it on her.

"Thank you, Deeks." Kensi said as he sat down again. "Now you didn't finish opening yours yet!" She said motioning to the half open box on the floor.

He finished peeling off the paper and a wide smile spread across his face when he saw what it was. It was a box of cronuts with a gift card for the shop taped to the top. He had once mentioned to her his love for the pastry, and was honestly surprised she even remembered. It had been in the middle of their undercover op as Justin and Melissa when they'd been talking about Rob and Bob's bakery.

"You got me cronuts?" Deeks said looking up at her with a smile that reached his eyes.

"Yeah, I had to keep them in my freezer for a few days since they closed yesterday for the holiday season." Kensi said.

"Thank you, Kensi." Now let's see what else there is.

"Alright, but seriously Deeks, I think you already gave me way more than enough."

Deeks handed her the three remaining gifts he had for her and she gave him the three she'd bought for him.

Deeks had bought her a couple boxes of her favorite Christmas candy, a new smoothie book, and a copy of the picture of them Nell had taken at last year's Christmas party. Deeks had thrown his arm around her and she had one eyebrow raised as she grinned at his action while he just smiled down at her. She had to smile at the picture. It described their partnership perfectly.

Kensi had bought Deeks a new shirt, she told him it was to replace the one that he'd had to wet and throw at the machine that a suspect had in their living room that was trying to kill them. She'd also bought him a survival guide since she constantly teased him on his lack of outdoor knowledge. The last one was a book of 'coupons' it was a little notebook filled with things like 'valid for one Saturday morning surf lesson', '1 day of controlling the radio', and so on. She knew it was childish, but he loved it.

Kensi and Deeks had also both given Monty a few new toys for Christmas which he was happily playing with now. Deeks remembered the stockings they'd hung on the fireplace and the present that was still in Kensi's.

"Are you going to open you're last one?" Deeks asked pointing to her stocking.

"I don't know..." Kensi said. It was the last gift she'd ever open from her dad.

"It's your decision." Kensi took a deep breath and stood up from the couch they were now sitting on. She took down her stocking and returned, sitting closer to Deeks than she had been so that his arm that was flung across the back of the couch was now around her shoulders.

"Do you have any idea what it is?" Deeks asked.

"None." She said as she took it out of the stocking. The red and green paper was aged and the color had worn from the corners and it seemed like it was going to fall apart at any moment.

Kensi took a deep breath and carefully removed the paper. The tape was no longer sticky so the paper simply fell off the item. Kensi's eyes filled with tears as she held it. It was a charm bracelet. She remembered asking for it when she was fifteen. Her dad had been very surprised she'd actually wanted jewelry, but she explained that it was more than that. The charms would mean something.

There were different things on it such as a little dirt bike charm, a set of mini dog tags, a miniature version of the car she and her dad had worked on and other small charms that reminded her of her father. She felt a tear run down her cheek and decided she didn't care if he saw. His left arm came down off the back of the couch and pulled her into him. He wrapped his other arm around her and hugged her close, reaching up to wipe the tears when they slipped down her face. 


	9. Christmas Day (Part 2)

"Thank you for being here for me, Deeks." Kensi said. As she twisted and placed her left hand on his chest.

"Well this is kinda my house so yeah, no problem." Deeks tried to joke as he often did when he didn't feel as if he deserved the gratitude or praise he was receiving.

"That's not what I mean and you know it… I just, I really appreciate you, Deeks. And I know we're kind of rough on you sometimes… But we do like having you around."

"And by we, you mean you.. Right." Kensi just smiled and placed a quick kiss on his cheek before standing up.

"I'm going to go get dressed before everyone gets here." She said as she walked back towards her room. She started digging through the boxes trying to find her clothes.

"Oh, I put your clothes in here in my closet!" Deeks said as he walked back to his room to get ready as well.

"Oh, thanks." Kensi said as she walked into the closet and quickly selected a pair of jeans and a dark green shirt. It was a little dressier than she usually wore to work with loose flowing chiffon and loose sleeves.

Kensi took the clothes into the bathroom and showered then changed quickly before exiting to find Deeks standing in his closet in a pair of jeans but no shirt. "What should I wear?" He asked without turning around.

"What about this?" She asked pulling a green button up off the hanger. He turned to look at her and paused for a second.

"Or something else… It was just a suggestion. I mean it's Christmas so I thought the green would be nice." She said as she moved to hang it back up.

Deeks quickly stopped her, though. "No, it's fine. I was just… you look great." He said looking at her again. She still had the necklace on which showed just above the lower neckline of the shirt that accentuated her collarbones and showed a little cleavage.

"Thanks." She said blushing a little. She handed him the shirt and he quickly pulled it on over his head and rolled up the sleeves so he could push them up above his elbows. He looked at her for confirmation. "It looks good. I guess we're matching again today?" Kensi said as she played with the necklace.

"Looks like it, Princess!" Deeks said. Kensi rolled her eyes but smiled at the same time so he knew she wasn't actually mad at him. Kensi walked to his door and stopped for a second.

"What are you making for lunch? You haven't started anything yet."

"Everyone else is bringing food, all I have to make is the salad and fruit punch."

"Punch?" Kensi questioned as he walked out of his closet and toward him.

"Yeah, it has raspberry sherbet, Hawaiian punch, and Sprite in it." He explained as he stepped up to her.

"Okay, do you need me to do anything?" She offered.

"Just this." HE said as he leaned down and captured her lips. She was caught off guard at first then quickly returned the kiss. This one was different than any of their other kisses. This one wasn't a cover kiss and it wasn't a quick little one like last night. Deeks arms slipped down around her waist and hers came up to his neck and face. After a few minutes they parted, but didn't move. Kensi felt the blush that was tainting her skin and smiled shyly up at him. She slipped out of his arms and down the hall to her room. She needed to think.

This was the second time in two days he'd kissed her and something was definitely changing between them. They hadn't talked about it yet. They'd always been teased about having a 'thing' but she never thought they'd actually act on it.

She looked down at the necklace he'd given her this morning. It was obviously special and meant a lot. They weren't officially anything more than friends, but was he trying to tell her something else?

She decided she'd have to bring it up again later as she grabbed her makeup bag and walked into the bathroom to do her makeup. Her hair had dried most of the way already so she decided to just let it go. She put on minimal makeup and walked back out to the kitchen to help Deeks with lunch preparations.

She set the table for him since he was busy making food. Neither of them really talked. They didn't know what to say. Finally Deeks broke the silence.

"Sorry."

"What?" Kensi asked, confused.

"I mean… I feel like I'm pushing you into something you might not want."

"No it's okay… It's just.."

"I'll understand if you want me to stop, I mean we have to work together and…"

"No, I mean… I would have said something by now if I didn't want to do this… I just… It's complicated right now and I think we should probably wait a little. I don't want to mess anything up."

"Yeah… Right… I understand. Maybe we could continue this again sometime? Like when you're not living in my house and all.."

"Yeah. Maybe." Kensi replied smiling at him

"Okay, good." He said, sitting the punch bowl on the counter next to the glasses so people could help themselves.

"Good" She said looking at him. They both smiled. She watched as he walked towards his bedroom and took down the mistletoe.

"What are you doing with that?" Kensi asked.

"Well we don't need it up but I figured it would be kind of amusing to hang somewhere…" Deeks said smiling at her.

"And who are you trying to catch underneath it?" Kensi questioned.

"Well… I happen to know of a couple intelligence analysts who may need a little nudge in the right direction…" Deeks said as he hung it directly above the front door. They had about an hour and a half before eating, but there wasn't a set time of arrival so Deeks led Kensi over to the couch where he turned on the gas fireplace and popped White Christmas into the DVD player.


	10. Christmas Day (Part 3)

**I know I'm posting a lot of chapters right now, but I really am enjoying this story! Don't get used to it thought because I have to go back to school tomorrow so it will probably not be updated until the weekend :(**

They were about fifteen minutes into the movie when the Hannah family arrived. Michelle placed the ham on the table as everyone greeted each other.

"So is Deeks driving you crazy yet?" Sam teased.

"Not yet, but it's only been a couple days!" Kensi replied smiling at Deeks who was sitting beside her.

Sam and his wife and kids had taken the couch, leaving the smaller love seat for Kensi and Deeks.

"So what did Santa bring you girls?" Deeks asked Kerry and Isabel as they played on the ground.

"We got iPads!" Said three year old Isabel as she held up her little child version of the iPad that was drop and water proof. Kerry, who was 9, had the iPad mini in her hands.

"Wow! You must have been really good girls this year!" Deeks said. Kensi smiled at him, he was so good with kids. She often caught herself imagining him as a dad in moments like these. Sometimes even as the father to their kids, which were very dangerous thoughts. Deeks met her smile and casually threw his arm up behind her on the small couch so that even at their distance, it reached across her shoulders.

Callen arrived next and brought some mashed potatoes and corn that he'd made. It had taken a few tries but he thinks they've turned out okay. He joined his partner on the couch and they talked and enjoyed each other's company as the movie finished up. Deeks changed the channel to a Christmas music station and turned the volume down so it was at an acceptable background music level.

They heard Nell and Eric approaching. Kensi and Deeks stood and received questionable glances from the rest of the guests at the looks they were wearing. It meant something was up.

"hi guys, here I'll take that. Kensi said as she took the pies out of Nell's hands so she could take off her boots and jacket.

Deeks took the homemade bread and noodles from Eric and then cleared his throat and glanced up to draw their attention to the mistletoe above the door as he walked over to the table to put the food down.

"Oh.. Um…" Nell stammered looking down.

"Come on guys, it's Christmas!" Kensi said.

They looked at each other and then Eric bent down as Nell leaned up and they exchanged a quick peck on the lips. Everyone whooped and cheered. It was no secret they had their own version of a 'thing' going on.

With the last guests arriving, as Hetty was out of town, everyone gathered around the table. Deeks pulled Kensi's chair out for her and then took his place next to her. They all joined hands as Deeks asked the blessing and then people started passing the food around. Deeks noticed Kensi didn't let go of his hand and glanced over at her. She wasn't even paying attention to him; she was engrossed in a conversation with Michelle, who was sitting across from her. Sam was sitting next to her and his daughters were on the end of the rounded table between him and his wife. Callen sat next to Michelle and across from Deeks with Eric and Nell occupying the other end of the table.

When Michelle and Kensi finished chatting, Deeks squeezed her hand, drawing her attention to him. She looked down and smiled a little as she pulled her hand back. He smiled at her too.

Callen was looking at them, trying to figure out what was going on. Something was different, but he wasn't sure what it was. He pushed that thought to the back burner when the ham was passed to him.

Everyone enjoyed the feast and then started to clean up. The women took the dishes as the men went to the living room with the kids who were already asking for dessert.

Michelle was rinsing the dishes off and passing them to Kensi while Nell put the extra food into containers and found a spot for them in the fridge. While bending over to put a plate into the dishwasher, Nell noticed her necklace swing down.

"Wow, Kensi, that's a beautiful necklace. I've never seen you wear it before." Nell said.

"Yes it is, where did you get it?" Michelle asked as Kensi reached up and held it between her thumb and finger.

"Its kind of a family heirloom, it belonged to a grandmother at one point." Kensi answered. She didn't need any attention being brought to her and Deeks' relationship at the moment. She met Deeks' eyes as he walked back into the main room from the bathroom, knowing he probably heard her. He smiled at her and she quickly returned it. Nell and Michelle didn't seem to notice their little exchange.

After dessert everyone crowded around the television to watch Miracle on 34th street. Kensi and Deeks were once again crammed onto the smaller seat, but now Sam's youngest had also joined them, causing them to sit even closer together. Deeks once again had his arm up and around Kensi. Isabel was showing Kensi her game on her little tablet from her spot next to her.

Michelle and Sam were on the couch, Sam's oldest was on his lap to make room for Callen to sit next to his partner. Nell sat in the recliner and Eric was in the arm chair next to it. During the movie, both the girls moved to the floor, giving Kensi and Deeks more room. Kensi leaned into Deeks' chest and his arm fell to rest with hers down near her waist, neither of them putting much thought into their position. Deeks hit the button on the side and reclined a little and put up the footstool.

They seemed to be the only ones in the room oblivious to their position. Sam leaned down to whisper to Callen "How much you wanna bet Kensi ends up staying here instead of looking for a new place?" Callen simply smiled and shook his head. He knew his junior agents were going to end up together at some point whether they wanted to admit it or not.

**REVIEW!**


	11. Christmas Day (Part 4)

Around three, everyone leaves. Deeks and Kensi continue cleaning up and Deeks pulls up the surf report on his phone.

"Hey, Kensi!" Deeks calls from the living room to where Kensi is in the kitchen.

"Yeah?"

"I know that coupon said it was good for one day of Saturday surfing, but the waves are perfect right now and there's probably nobody out. Would you want to go now?"

"Sure… Save that coupon for another day though." Kensi says as she goes to their closet to get dressed. She looks around the spacious closet and how Deeks hadn't really moved any of his stuff, just like she'd told him. She didn't want to cause him to change anything. So instead he'd simply mixed in her shirts, pants, jackets, and shoes in with his. For some reason she really liked how their clothes looked all mixed together.

She located her bikini and wetsuit and quickly changed in Deeks' master bathroom. When she came out he was already changed and ready to go, practically bouncing in place at the front door with excitement. Kensi smiled at him.

"You ready?!" Deeks asked as he picked up their bags and grabbed her keys.

"Yes, Deeks… Let's go before you explode." She said laughing.

They walked out and got into the car, she let him drive again since he knew where the best spot was.

"Hey, stop for a second!" Kensi said as they drove down a residential street with no traffic.

"Okay?" Deeks said. Kensi got out of the car and walked up to the for sale sign in the front of the house that contained flyers advertising it. She took one and got back in the car.

"Are you actually thinking about buying a house?" Deeks asked as they pulled up to the beach parking area.

"Yeah, I was thinking about it last night, and I mean… I'm going to be turning thirty soon… and it wouldn't be a bad thing to have something a little more permanent. This one's not too far from work and the boat shed is practically walking distance from here."

"Wow, I uh… that's great Kens." Deeks said, a little surprised with his partner. "So you thinking about settling down… maybe having a couple little mutant ninja assassins…"

"God, Deeks! Stop with the mutant ninja assassin thing already!" Kensi said laughing as they got out of the car. "But…"

"But what?" He asked.

"I guess it wouldn't be a bad thing really… I wouldn't mind having kids if I found the right person… maybe in a few years or something." She added.

He paused and looked at her, slightly stunned at what she'd just said. "Wow, okay then…"

"Do you ever think about it?" Kensi asked.

"About settling down and having a family… Yeah, times like today when Sam was there with his wife and daughters makes me think of how nice it would be to have something like that to come home to at the end of the day." He said, the fact he practically said the same words she'd used when they were undercover as Justin and Melissa not lost on either of them.

They surfed for a couple of hours before heading back to Deeks' apartment. Kensi brought up the house online to look at pictures.

This isn't a bad place, Kens…. Are you actually able to afford it?" He asked. He knew his salary would have to stretch pretty far to be able to afford it.

"Yeah, I mean I should be able to. I have quite a bit saved up since I've just been renting my little place for a while…"

"Just out of curiosity, what do you make?" Deeks asked.

"Around $120,000."

"What?!" Deeks exclaimed. He knew they made more than he did on his LAPD salary, but was surprised at the amount. "And here I thought I was doing well with $75,000…"

"You deserve more than that Deeks, you do just as much work as we do, why haven't you signed those papers you have in your drawer?" Kensi asked.

"How do you know those are there?"

"I was hungry and I know you keep food in your desk…" Kensi says. Deeks laughs a little.

"I don't know… I've just always been LAPD. I feel like being a cop is a part of me now."

"But you can get called back at any time. I'm pretty sure we don't actually need a liason officer and Hetty is just trying to get you to sign the papers before it's too late."

"Too late for what?" He asked.

"Technically I haven't had a partner since Dom died. You're not actually and NCIS employee so you don't have all the training. I know you're more than capable of watching my back, but Hetty's been fighting to keep you here for a while now. I don't think Vance is a huge fan of sending our elite team out with some LAPD cop; but he's never met you. You should sign the papers, Deeks."

"Yeah, okay… Wow, yeah I definitely don't want to get pulled back into the LAPD… I'll sleep on it tonight and maybe we can go in tomorrow so Hetty can have them before the end of the year." Kensi practically leaped out of her chair and hugged him when he said this.

"Great. Now back to the house… It looks like it has three decent sized bedrooms… two bathrooms… a pretty good sized living room, and its location is pretty much perfect."

"yeah, but is it worth almost $750,000?"

"Probably not, but I could probably negotiate it down… I just have to get approved for the loan."

"Should we call Hetty and let her know?" Deeks asked.

"Probably wouldn't be a bad idea…" Kensi agreed as she took out her phone.


	12. Moving (Again)

The next several weeks went by rather smoothly. Kensi and Deeks had really grown to enjoy each other's company and Kensi's stuff was being repacked to take to her new house.

While the loan she'd taken out had been close to her approved maximum, she felt it was going to be worth it in the end.

She ended up negotiating the house down to $720,000, which was still high, but much less than the listing price.

"Is that everything?" Deeks asked.

Kensi looked around the house once more, "yeah, it looks like everything's packed up and ready to go."

"Okay then, off to your new house we go!" Deeks said rather enthusiastically.

They had rented their own moving truck this time, so Deeks drove and followed Kensi down the few streets to her new house.

She got out of her car and waited for him. He pulled up and walked up to the sidewalk to meet her. "Ready to go see you're new house?" He asked. Kensi hadn't even looked at it before. While the realtor thought she was crazy, she knew it was for the best that she put in an offer as soon as possible to avoid competition. It had taken a few weeks to close on the house but now it was officially hers. She'd been warned that there were some minor cosmetic updates that would probably need to be made in the future, but it was move-in ready.

"Yeah, come on!" She said. She grabbed his hand and pulled him with her. Deeks was surprised, it was the first time she'd held his hand since Christmas… not that he was complaining or anything.

Kensi turned the key and unlocked the door. She pulled Deeks along with her as she walked inside. The house had nice wood floors that were in need of a good refinish, but they weren't in bad condition. The living space was all open so the living room, dining room and kitchen were all clearly visible from the front door. They walked over to the kitchen.

"I think this is what the realtor meant by the cosmetic fixes…" Deeks said as he looked at the counters and cabinets that didn't look as if they'd been changed since the 1950s.

"Yeah, that shouldn't be too hard to take care of though." Kensi replied.

Next they made their way down the hallway to the three bedrooms. The master was a great size and had a balcony leading out to a view of the sand dunes and beach that were out her back door. Deeks was practically salivating over this. The other two rooms were a decent size for an office/storage room and a guest room. The master bathroom had recently been redone and had a nice tub and standing shower. The other bathroom off the kitchen near the backdoor needed as much updating as the kitchen.

"Seriously? Why would anyone in their right minds pick these colors?" Deeks asked looking at the garish lime green and purple tiles that covered the entire bathroom. "The toilet, tub and sink are purple. That's just not right."

Kensi had to laugh at his interpretation of the bathroom, although she didn't think much higher of it herself. She figured she'd just use the master for the time being until she could get around to redoing the bathroom.

They moved her stuff into the house and prepared for the delivery of the furniture Kensi had picked out a couple weeks ago.

Once everything was moved in, Kensi and Deeks decided it was a good time for a movie night. They hadn't had one in a while.

"You want me to order a pizza?" Kensi asked as Deeks picked through the box of movies sitting by the television.

"Sure, sounds good." He replied. Kensi placed the order then went to her new bedroom to put on some more comfortable clothes. She pulled out the first outfit she found which was a pair of grey leggings and a navy NCIS t shirt. She also pulled her hair back into a messy bun.

"What are we watching?" Kensi asked as she plopped down on the sofa.

"The Day the Earth Stood Still." Deeks answered just as the opening credits started.

The doorbell rang and Kensi retrieved the pizza. They dug in and then relaxed back into the couch while watching the movie. Kensi's head was on Deeks chest and he wasn't exactly in the most comfortable of positions on her new couch, so he pulled her with him so she was lying down between him and the back of the couch on her side whilst he lay on his back.

She'd fought it at first, but then decided it wasn't worth fighting anymore. After all, they had said they'd continue with their 'thing' when she moved out.

She caught Deeks staring at her and gave him a questioning glance, which caused him to look back at the movie. 'why not?' Kensi thought to herself as she leaned down and connected her lips to his. Deeks rather quickly got the message and rolled so that Kensi was on her back beneath him and continued to deepen the kiss. Kensi groaned at one point, which made Deeks fight to keep control of the situation. They were not going any further tonight, Kensi deserved more than that.

"So is this us continuing our 'thing'?" Deeks asked.

Kensi simply grinned up at him and nodded. They both sat back up on the couch and noticed the movie had ended while they were otherwise occupied.

"Wow it's getting late. I should probably get going…" Deeks said. "Crap!"

"What's wrong?" Kensi asked from her position in the kitchen where she was throwing away their trash from dinner.

"I don't have a car, remember I brought yours this morning."

"Just take mine now, bring both of our surf stuff in the morning and we can go out before work." Kensi said as she walked back into the living room.

"Okay." Deeks said then laughed a little.

"What?"

"Just remembering how when we first became partners I wasn't even allowed to think about driving your car and now it's almost normal."

"It is normal… but a lot has changed since then too." She said as they walked to the door.

"Yes it has." Deeks said as he leaned down and kissed her briefly. "Goodnight, Kens."

"Goodnight, Deeks." Kensi said as she shut the door.


	13. Surfing

**Reviews make me very happy…. And I write faster when I get them so please review at the end of this chapter! Ideas for future happenings are more than welcome.**

Not ten minutes after Deeks left her house, she felt her phone vibrate.

_D: It's weird without you here…_

_K: Yeah, I know… it's so quiet now. I really don't know what to do about it!_

_D: I can't tell if that's sarcasm or not…_

_K: I'll never tell;)_

_D: Monty misses you_

(translation: I miss you)

_K: I miss him too. _(translation: I miss you too)

_D: What time should I come by tomorrow?_

_K: Whatever time you want, just bring the coffee!_

_D: Would I dare show up without it?!_

_K: If you had a death wish you would…_

_D: Which I don't…_

_K: Which is good:)_

_D: We're going to bed. Goodnight Princess:)_

_K: Goodnight, Deeks:)_

Kensi tossed her phone onto the bed and decided to try to get some sleep so she wouldn't be too tired for work tomorrow, Mondays weren't her friend to begin with and surfing was going to take a lot of her nonexistent energy.

Kensi awoke to a large thud to her left and then another on top of her. She went to grab for her gun but a wet tongue let her know who the intruders were.

"How'd you get in?" Kensi asked trying to wake up. She rolled over to look at Deeks who was already in his wetsuit and grinning at her like an idiot.

"I can pick locks too, remember. And I brought you breakfast in bed. Down, Monty!" The dog scrambled off the bed as Kensi sat up. Deeks handed her a bag with a breakfast wrap and pointed to the coffee he'd brought her on the night table.

"Well if you're going to do this every morning, I'll give you a key…. Don't want the neighbors to think I have a creep sneaking into my house at….. 5:30 in the morning?! Seriously?!"

"I didn't know how long it would take you to get ready… prove you can get ready and allow us to be out there by 6 and I can come later from now on."

"So is this going to be a daily thing now?"

"I was kinda hoping so.."Deeks trailed off.

"We'll see, you can definitely still give me rides to work."

"Can I keep my surf stuff here so I don't have to haul it back and forth from now on?" Deeks asked.

"Sure, I think there's a shed out back." Kensi replied.

"Awesome! Come on Kens! Get up and get dressed!" Deeks said as he stood up on her bed and pulled the covers back.

"Fine." Kensi said getting up to change out of her leggings and t shirt from the night before. She pulled her wetsuit and the bikini she'd sat out last night off of her dresser and headed to the bathroom to change. Deeks and Monty went to retrieve their surf boards from the car and met up with Kensi as she was exiting the house.

"Why don't we just walk?" Kensi asked. Deeks shrugged and handed her the board she usually used and they started climbing through the sand dunes.

"Never again are we coming this way!" Kensi complained.

"I completely agree. It's so not worth saving the planet. And just a reminder, unless Monty has a drivers license I don't know about, we have no car to get us back so we're gonna have to walk the whole way back too!"

"UGH!" Kensi complained as they neared the beach. It was well over half a mile later when they reached the secluded area Deeks had somehow found to surf at years ago. "In my defense, it looked a lot closer from the balcony!"

"We'll have to head back a little, no make that a lot, earlier." Deeks said

"Ya think?" Kensi replied.

Deeks had already prepared their surfboards and so they headed straight out to the water. The sun was just rising behind them as they paddled out into the water.

They surfed for about an hour and then headed back to make the trek to Kensi's house. By the time they arrived, they were mostly dry and had barely enough time to change and get to work.

"Look who finally decided to show up!" Callen commented as they walked into the bullpen.

"Why are you guys both wet?" Sam asked. While they were somewhat use to Deeks coming in with wet hair, Kensi usually didn't.

"We went surfing." Kensi answered.

"Really? You enjoy surfing?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, it's fun. Although I don't know how much I enjoy being woken at 5:30 to go." Kensi said faux glaring at Deeks.

"Hey, you said whatever time!" Deeks defended.

"I will never say that again!" Kensi said.

What their coworkers couldn't see was underneath the desks, Kensi and Deeks were both resting on her thigh, fingers interlocked. When Sam and Callen went back to work on case reports, Kensi and Deeks shared a smile. Things were about to get interesting.

**REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW! THEY MAKE ME VERY HAPPY AND MAKE ME WANT TO WRITE MORE!**


	14. Resigning

Kensi and Deeks' hands dropped immediately when they heard the startling voice of their operations manager.

"Mr. Deeks!" Hetty called from her position between the stairs and the bullpen.

"Uh…" Deeks stood up and walked over to her. "is there something wrong?" He asked as he approached her cautiously. The rest of the team was watching with interest.

"On the contrary, Mr. Deeks; I received your paperwork on my desk and just wanted to give you these." Hetty said as she passed the box she was holding to him. Inside was his new NCIS badge and SIG.

"You… You mean, I'm an official….." Deeks said he looked between Hetty and the box.

"Yes, Mr. Deeks; you are an official NCIS probationary agent as of nine o'clock this morning." Hetty said.

Kensi jumped up as he turned around to look at her. They both had huge smiles on their faces. Kensi rushed and gave him a tight hug, which he returned with the one arm that wasn't holding the box.

"Congratulations, Deeks!" Callen said as he also approached Deeks and shook his hand. Sam repeated the gesture.

Deeks looked down at Kensi and smiled. He pulled her in for another hug before going to put the box of files on his desk that he'd have to fill out. "What do I do with these now?" Deeks said as he took off his LAPD badge and Beretta 94fs.

"You'll have to return those along with your resignation to LAPD. It's a slow day, go ahead and take your partner with you." Hetty said, knowing how much he hated the LAPD office.

"O.. Okay." Deeks said as he and Kensi headed out to her car.

Not many words were exchanged on the ride there. When they arrived at the precinct Deeks grabbed Kensi's hand. She looked at him questionably, they hadn't yet discussed what they were or if they were telling anyone, but she decided that this was just LAPD and they wouldn't really know anyone here anyway.

As they walked through the precinct Kensi noticed how many of the officers looked at her partner. Just outside the gym they were approached by an officer. "Yo, Deeks. What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be being babysat by those feds?" The guy and his buddies laughed at the jab. Deeks simply pulled his jacket to the side showing his new badge.

"Nope, just turning in my resignation." Deeks replied.

"And who's this, your little girlfriend or something?" The guy asked.

"Back off McCracken." Deeks warned noticing Kensi's icy glare being directed at the officer.

"What, or you're gonna do something. Bring it, Deeks!" McCracken said.

"Oh, no not me. I'd be more afraid of my 'little girlfriend' as you just called her." Deeks said.

"Really? She looks too pretty to hurt a fly."

"Okay, well… why don't I let you decide that while I go turn in my badge." Deeks said as Kensi slipped her hand from his.

"Okay then, pick your game." McCracken said. Kensi immediately walked over to the taser knifes. The men were slightly surprised but followed along.

Needless to say, by the time he returned, all three of the officers were sweating and on the ground and Kensi simply ran a hand through her hair to put it back into place.

"Told ya." Deeks said as Kensi walked back over to him and they laughed as the men hauled themselves off the floor.

"Who is she? Some sort of secret agent or something?" One of the guys asked.

"NCIS actually, and yeah, before you go insulting Deeks again you should probably reconsider. He's been training with us and is almost able to take me down." She looks at Deeks. "Almost."

"Yeah, we'll definitely remember that. So does your boss know about you two?"

"it's Hetty Lange, she knows everything." Deeks answered easily, seeing how the look of astonishment passed over their face at her name.

"As in THE Hetty Lange?" McCracken asked.

"Little short ninja who sneaks up behind you and has an obsession with exotic teas and knives, yeah, that's her." Deeks answered causing Kensi to laugh.

And on that note the partners exited the precinct and headed back to OSP.

"So what happened while we were gone?" Deeks asked as he took off his bag and dropped it next to his desk as Kensi did the same next to him.

"No." Sam replied, not even looking up from his report.

They continued to work on reports, then Kensi reached into her bag and pulled out a key. She slid it over to Deeks. "What's this?" he asked, confused.

"A key to my house. I'm not going to be surfing every morning, and this way you don't have to pick my lock or wake me up to get your stuff."

"Oh, thanks." Deeks said smiling as he attached it to his key ring.

Sam and Callen exchanged knowing looks but didn't say anything. Kensi may have moved out, but they knew the two agents wouldn't stay apart for long.

Kensi looked up as Nell came down the stairs, she beckoned Kensi over to her. She followed to the locker room.

"So…" Nell began.

"So…" Kensi parroted

"What's going on with you and Deeks? Are you like, together now?" Nell asked excitedly.

"Uh, I don't know. We haven't really talked about it since before Christmas…"

"Darn! I thought you guys would be together by now. Let me know when you two decide to get your act together."

Kensi laughed. "Okay, Nell."

"Good, now we're gonna have a case here soon, we're still getting the information but when we do…"

An ear piercing whistle sounded.

"And that's our cue!" Kensi said. Everyone bounded up the steps to ops to see what awaited them.


	15. Dating

Kensi and Nell entered OPS last. They each made their ways over to their respective partners. Nell and Eric informed them about their latest case. A naval intelligence analyst was murdered in his home.

It turned out to be a fairly easy case. Nothing important had been taken, it was a simple home invasion gone bad done by a couple of dumb robbers.

"So, you wanna come over tonight? Maybe watch a movie or something?" Kensi asked.

"Well… I was kinda thinking we could do something else…" Deeks said.

"Okay, what did you have in mind?" Kensi said as they made their way out of OSP to her car.

"Well, we did say we'd continue with our thing once you moved out… and you did… so would you maybe want to go out tonight? Find somewhere new to eat… Maybe go see that hunger games movie you've been raving about."

"Marty Deeks, are you asking me out on a date?" Kensi asked as they stopped at her car.

"Uh… yeah… I'm pretty sure I am at least."

"Then I'm going to say yes. That sounds great." Kensi smiled at him before going to her side of the car, not letting Deeks drive this time.

Deeks let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and jumped a little with excitement. He had just asked Kensi Marie Blye out on a Date, and she'd said yes…YES!

Deeks got in the car and they set off towards each of their houses. Kensi dropped Deeks off so he could get ready. "Wait, Deeks!" Kensi called through the open window as he walked up to his apartment. He turned around.

"What type of place are we going to eat at? We're going to the movies after so it can't be too dressy."

"Okay, then wear something that's on the dressier end of casual. I know a place we can try."

"Alright…"Kensi said, trusting him on this.

"See you in an hour?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure." She replied as she pulled out of the driveway.

Kensi hurried home so she could jump in the shower quickly. She was careful not to get her hair wet, it wouldn't dry in time. She applied more makeup and then went to her new room to find an outfit. She remembered the outfit Nell had helped her pick out. She put on the pair of bright royal blue jeggings and the black and white chiffon top with an open back that was mostly covered by a draping bow. She stepped back admiring herself, then slipped on a pair of black strappy heels and walked out into the living room. Just as she picked up her purse and slipped on her leather jacket, the doorbell rang. Kensi looked at the time, he was about fifteen minutes late.

"Hey…. Wow…. You look beautiful." Deeks said as he handed her a single flower he'd picked out of his neighbor lady's garden. He didn't think she'd notice.

"Thanks… you look pretty nice yourself." Kensi said as she placed the flower on the table inside the door.

"Uh, can we take your car? Mine isn't starting… again." Deeks asked sheepishly.

"How'd you get here?"

"I walked…"

"Deeks! You could have called me!"

"I know, it's just…. This is our first date and I didn't want you to be picking me up when it's supposed to be the other way around."

Kensi smiled at him as she handed him the keys. He held out his hand which she gladly took as they made their way to her Cadillac.

They ate at a new place called Paradise. It was a restaurant with a tropical theme and served traditional Hawaiian foods. They both agreed it was delicious and they'd definitely be back.

They arrived at the movies and were standing in line, holding hands when someone they knew walked up behind them with his two daughters. Sam Hannah motioned to his girls to be quiet and not say anything. He heard Deeks purchase the two tickets and then they made their way over to the food and drink area. Sam bought their tickets to Walking with Dinosaurs and then followed his coworkers to purchase popcorn and soda.

Deeks once again paid and he watched as they headed into Catching Fire. He wasn't sure what was going on between the agents, but he was pretty sure they were on a date.

Both parties went to their respective movies.

About halfway through Kensi felt Deeks do the cliché 'stretch to put arm across her shoulders' move. She raised an eyebrow as if to say "really?"

"Is it okay if I put my arm around you?" Deeks asked. Kensi smiled as she put up the armrest between them so she could move closer as he wrapped his arm around her. When the movie was over they made their way out to the lobby.

"Is that Sam?" Kensi asked, not letting go of his hand.

"Yes it is." Before either of them could do anything Sam waved at them and so they made their way over to talk to their friend.

"Uncle Marty! Aunt Kensi!" Sam's daughters greeted them as they neared the trio. Deeks dropped Kensi's hand to pick up Isabella.

"Wow, did you grow since Christmas? You seem so much bigger!" Deeks said causing the little girl to laugh. Kerry was practically bouncing up and down telling Kensi about the movie they just saw.

"We wanted to see Frozen but daddy wouldn't watch a princess movie." Kerry pouted.

"Awe Sam, really?" Deeks asked.

"Hey, they should be thankful I even brought them here. It's their mom's birthday so she went out with a few friends. We were going to have a date night after she got home, but their babysitter canceled."

"Why don't we take you girls to see Frozen while your dad and mom have a night to themselves." Deeks suggests and looks at Kensi who just shrugs.

"No, I couldn't do that to you guys. You're obviously on a date."

"Yeah, but we were just gonna head home. Hey, I have an idea… Why don't we go see the movie and then you girls can come have a sleepover at my house." Kensi offered.

"Go home Sam, we've got this." Deeks said.

"Okay, well at least let me pay for the tickets… and if they're any trouble, just call. I'll drop some of their stuff off at your house before heading home. It's in the car." Sam said. They were supposed to have stayed overnight with their usual babysitter but she called and said she had the flu.

Sam paid for their tickets and then headed out. Kensi and Deeks bought the girls candy and refilled their soda cups and popcorn bucket. They headed into the theater and found four seats about halfway up. Kerry sat down first followed by Kensi then Deeks then Isabella on the end.

The movie was a lot better than either adult had expected and Kensi and Deeks ended up holding hands for a majority of the time. The car ride home was filled with chatter and laugher about their favorite parts of the movie. Deeks made a quick stop at the Walmart near the theater leaving Kensi and the girls in the car and purchased them the little Olav snowman stuffed animal/pillow thing he'd seen there earlier since they seemed to be obsessed with the little snowman.

"Thank you!" both the girls had said when he gave them their pillows. Kensi smiled at him and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"Eww." Isabella said covering her eyes.

The adults laughed as Deeks pulled out of the parking spot.

"So are you two like boyfriend and girlfriend?" Kerry asked.

"Uh.." Deeks looked at Kensi who smiled before he answered. "Yeah, I guess we are now."

"I have a boyfriend!" Isabella said. Kensi and Deeks both laughed. "I do! His name is Bobby and he plays with me on the playground." She said.

"Does your dad know about Bobby?" Deeks asked.

"NO WAY!" Isabella said causing everyone in the car to start laughing again.

They arrived at Kensi's house and found the bags sitting on her front porch. They all made their way inside and Kensi turned on the TV for them while Deeks went to go grab Monty and some stuff from his house so that he could stay the night as well.


	16. Babysitting

Deeks returned with his stuff and a few extra things.

"Deeks… What are you doing?"

"Well, I figured since we're having a sleepover, we might as well make it super fun! So I brought a bunch of sheets to make a fort."

"Forts are for boys. Girls make castles." He was informed by Kerry.  
"Can we make a castle like Elsa's in the movie!?" Isabella asked.

"Well, we can try, but we're probably going to have to use our imaginations." Deeks said.

The four started constructing a massive fort made out of the sheets Deeks brought as well as a few things Kensi had around her living room. When they were finished, they had constructed a fort that stretched from the kitchen island to the table by the front door and over the sofa so they could watch tv from the fort as well. They'd also made 'rooms' in the fort by draping some of the sheets down to make dividing walls so Kensi and Deeks had a room and then the girls each had their own which they'd drug their bags into. Kensi had brought out a couple of sleeping bags and other blankets for the girls to make themselves comfortable.

"you have to bring your blankets out too Kensi!" Kerry insisted.

"Uh okay…" Kensi said as she and Deeks exited the fort. Their space was barely big enough to fit themselves into, but thankfully was the one closest to the door. Kensi didn't know the neighborhood well enough yet to let the girls sleep by the door.

"Kens, if you don't feel comfortable with this, I can go home…" Deeks offered.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're staying." Kensi said. The original plan was for the girls to sleep on the couch in the living room while Deeks took the extra bedroom and Kensi took her room.

"Okay, here let me help you." Deeks said as he took some of Kensi's blankets from her and transported them out to the fort.

He laid the first layer down to make a cushion for them to lay on and then with the second load of blankets he left them pulled back so they could get underneath them. Kensi had rounded up enough pillows for everyone, even though the girls insisted on using their new ones Deeks bought them.

"Okay girls, lights out." Kensi said as she hit the light switch. It was already nearing one in the morning and the sugar highs were wearing off.

Kensi curled up next to Deeks, surprising both of them when she immediately cuddled up to him by putting her head on his chest, sprawling her arm and a leg across him. "We're gonna end up like this anyway." Kensi answered his silent question. And it was true; every morning as Justin and Melissa they'd woken up in a position similar to this.

"Goodnight Kens." Deeks whispered.

"Goodnight Marty." Kensi whispered back then raised her head to give him a quick kiss on the lips which he eagerly responded to. They were both aware that Sam's daughters lay only a few feet away though so they ended it quickly.

The night was rather uneventful and they were woken in the morning by a knocking on the door. Kensi could see it was Sam from her position on the floor since her front door was made of glass and you could see blurry shapes through the design.

Kensi crawled from her position and opened the door without getting up off the floor. Sam looked down at her in confusion. "What did they do to you guys?"

Deeks was now laying sprawled out on the floor and Kensi sat near his head still trying to get sleep out of her eyes.

"Daddy?" Isabella pulled back the 'door' into Kensi and Deeks' 'room'

"Hey Bella!" Did you have fun?" Sam asked as his youngest crawled over Deeks to get to him. Kensi stood up and started removing sheets so she could get to the older one.

"That was a pretty cool fort if I do say so myself." Deeks said getting up from the floor and picking up the blankets and pillows before depositing them into Kensi's room. Kerry slept on through all the commotion.

"She's always been a deep sleeper" Sam explained as he went to wake up his daughter.

"Want anything for breakfast?" Kensi offered

"No, Michelle has food waiting for them at home and I already ate. I figured I would pick them up and give you two some time to get ready for work. Thanks again for watching them last night. And I see you guys have new pillows." Sam said picking one up. "Is it a marshmallow?" he asked.

"No, it's Olav, he's a funny snowman." Kerry told him as she got up off the floor.

The girls said goodbye to Kensi and Deeks then left with Sam.

"Well today should be interesting. We couldn't even keep our relationship a secret until after our first date." Deeks said as he made their coffees.

"Yeah, oh well. We were never going to be able to keep it hidden for very long anyways. Callen and Sam would have noticed somehow." Kensi said as she handed him a bowl of instant oatmeal.

"That's true. When did you start eating oatmeal?" Deeks asked.

"They were on sale and I figured I'd try it, and I actually like them… just not the strawberry."

"Which is why I'm eating it, right?" Deeks said as he ate more.

"You got it!" Kensi said as she finished hers and stuck it in the sink. She went to her room to get dressed and Deeks followed.

"Wow.."

"Deeks! What are you doing?" Kensi said standing near her closet in nothing but her bra and panties.

"Uh my stuff's in here too and your door wasn't shut."

"Oh, well… just… nevermind." Kensi said as she turned around and continued to look for something to wear.

"Wait, what…" Deeks asked.

"Just get dressed." She said. As she started to pull on her jeans.

Deeks took off his t shirt and pajama pants then proceeded to throw on what he'd packed the night before. When he looked up before putting on his shirt, he caught Kensi staring at him, she blushed a little bit and then went back to putting on her shoes.

They grabbed their coffees on the way out the door and Kensi let Deeks drive. They walked into work as if nothing had changed but it looked like Sam had already told the whole office before their arrival.

"I thought you said you'd let me know!" Nell complained.

"In our defense, Sam found out before we were even finished with our first date." Kensi replied. Nell sighed and headed back up to ops.

"Good morning, love birds." Callen said with a smug smirk on his face. Kensi and Deeks sighed. This was going to be a long day. 


	17. Talking

"So, when were you planning to tell us if Sam hadn't caught you guys last night?" Callen asked.

"We hadn't really talked about that part yet…" Kensi replied.

"I hope you guys didn't do anything to scar my children." Sam warned with a teasing tone.

"Nope, but you might want to ask little Isabella about her boyfriend." Deeks said. He and Kensi both smiled as their teammate's head shot up and looked at them.

"You're not serious." He asked.

"No, for once he's not kidding. His name is Bobby. They play together on the playground." Kensi said watching as Sam became more flustered about it.

"Relax, big guy, it's just puppy love." Deeks said as he leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah… But…. But….. but…" Sam stammered.

"Nice going guys, you broke him. Come on Sam, let's go hit the gym." Callen said as he drug his partner away.

"What do you think he's going to be like when they're teens and trying to date?" Deeks asked.

"I don't know, wouldn't you be that way?" Kensi asked.

"With the child I don't have?" Deeks asked.

"Well, hypothetically say we have a daughter…."

"Wait, we?" Deeks interrupted.

"You know what I mean." Kensi said.

"I do, you want to have kids with yours truly." Deeks said grinning smugly.

"I… Can we have this conversation some other time?" Kensi asked trying to get back on topic.

"yeah you're right, I should probably wait until at least after date two to ask if you want to have children." Deeks said sarcastically.

"I… Ugh, never mind. Just get back to work." Kensi said picking up a file.

"Alright, but just for the record, if our daughter would claim to have a boyfriend I'd have probably just about the same reaction because our kids would be so good looking that nobody would be able to resist them." Deeks said with a deadly serious tone.

"Wh… Where is this coming from?" Kensi asked

"What? You've never thought about us having kids?" Deeks asked.

"Well… Okay fine, I've thought about it before, happy?"

"Very." Deeks replied with a genuine smile.

"And I guess you're right, our kids would have some very good genes." Kensi said.

"So do you want kids?" Deeks asked.

"Uh, I don't know. I would like to have them, but I don't know that it's practical." Kensi said.

"Come on, we could make it work." Deeks said.

"Yeah, probably… Just, can we talk about this another time." Kensi said.

"Yeah, but just for the record, as of right now, we're going to be having kids sometime in the future?" Deeks asked.

"As of right now…. Yeah I guess so." Kensi agreed.

"Awesome!" Deeks said kissing Kensi on the cheek. She just smiled at his excitement.

Sam and Callen returned from the gym half an hour later and the rest of the day continued as usual.

"Alright, we're heading out." Kensi said as she and Deeks picked up their things. "see you guys on Monday."

Kensi and Deeks left in her car, ending up back at her place again. They'd stopped at Deeks' apartment so he could grab a movie, beers, and a change of clothes, because at this point they both knew he'd end up staying over.

They settled in on her couch for the night, her lying on her side between him and the back of the couch, the popcorn sitting on his stomach and his arm around her head. Monty was snoozing on the dog bed Deeks had bought for at her house.

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful, they went to bed together, this time in her actual bed. And although this was their first time sleeping together in a bed as Kensi and Deeks, he wasn't about to try anything. He wanted to do this right.

The rest of the month seemed to follow this routine. Kensi would stop by Deeks' apartment after work with him, he'd grab a few things, and then they'd head over to her house. He now had half of her closet and they'd redone the kitchen last weekend.

Deeks was bravely teaching Kensi how to cook in her new kitchen. He was finding her surprisingly good at it.

"Now what happened to the Kensi who couldn't cook something in the microwave on the undercover assignment?" Deeks questioned.

"It's not like I have never cooked before, I cooked all the time as a teen and before I joined NCIS, I just hadn't needed to so I kind of forgot how to. It's coming back to me now." She replied as she stirred the chicken noodle soup they were making.

"I should have retaught you earlier!" Deeks said as he stood behind her, his arms around her waist and his face nuzzling her neck before dropping a kiss on her bare shoulder. She currently was wearing a one shoulder dress that he was really enjoying.

"Also, why are you wearing a dress? Are we going out or something?" Deeks asked.

"I wasn't planning on it, and contrary to popular belief I do like wearing dresses, I just don't get to very often." Kensi replied.

"Oh, well I like it." Deeks said.

They had progressed to now sleeping together in every sense of the word and so far they hadn't brought up anything past that.

"Do you need anything from your place before the weekend?" Kensi asked, she realized they'd come straight home and hadn't stopped at his place.

"Uh, maybe I should grab a few sweatshirts for the weekend since it's getting colder." He said.

"Okay, want to run over after we eat?" Kensi asked.

"Sure." Deeks agreed as she put the soup into two bowls and turned off the burner.

They sat down and ate at her dining room table. He was surprised how tidy his partner had become since moving. She actually kept the place clean so they could use the dining room table.

They headed out to the car to drive to his apartment. They didn't realize they were going to make a huge decision in about 10 minutes.


	18. Deciding

They arrived at Deeks apartment and headed inside. Kensi hadn't been inside since she moved out, so seeing the place was kind of a shock.

"Where is everything?" She asked as she walked through and into his bedroom.

"At your place?" He said as if it were obvious.

"Seriously?" She said looking in his closet, which was void of nearly anything. He had a few blankets folded on top, but all of the hangers were empty and he only had a few colder weather items left in there and he was moving them out now.

"Yeah, I mean it's been a month since I even stayed here overnight… So yeah, most of my stuff is at your place." He said as he placed a few more sweats into his duffel bag that he was bringing.

"Deeks…" Kensi said but then paused.

"What?" He asked picking up the bag and walking towards her position at the door of his closet.

"Why don't you just move in?" She asked, slightly nervous he'd reject her offer.

A grin slowly spread across his features. "Are you being serious right now?!" He asked excitedly.

"Yeah…" She said hesitantly.

"Miss commitment issues is asking me to move in with her. BEST. DAY. EVER!" Deeks said and saw she was still waiting for an official answer. "Of course, I'll move in!" Deeks said as he closed the distance between them and kissed her.

"We're not moving too fast, are we?" She asked.

"Well, by normal standards, probably… We've only been on, what, four dates? And we've only been together officially for a month, but unofficially we've been together for about four years now so for us, no this isn't too fast, not for me at least."

"Okay good." She said smiling at him and kissing him again.

"When do you want to pack up my stuff?" He asked.

"Well, you only have a few things in the living room and kitchen left, we could do it tonight." She said.

"Okay, uh yeah I think I still have a few boxes in the back room, I'll go grab them." He said.

"Is this your furniture?" She asked sitting on a chair in the living room.

"Only that chair and the TV are mine. The rest stays." He said.

Kensi started packing up his living room into the box while he tackled the kitchen. He'd also been bringing kitchen equipment to her house already so there wasn't much left in there either.

Less than an hour later and they were done packing. Unlike Kensi, Deeks was a minimalist. If he didn't use it on a regular basis, he didn't keep it. They grabbed their boxes and sat them in the back seat, Deeks ran back in for his other boxes that were in the back room that contained things like Christmas decorations and the few personal items he'd collected over the years. They went into the back seat with the other boxes and then they put his chair into the back of the car, after they disassembled it.

They quickly unpacked at her, now their, house. By nine they were done and relaxing in the living room.

"What do we do about financial stuff now?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Kensi asked.

"Well, like you're monthly payments that are now OUR monthly payments." He said.

"I don't know… I mean splitting them is going to be difficult and confusing, but we could probably sit down and figure it out." She said.

"Or we could just get a combined bank account." Deeks threw the idea out there without really thinking.

"Uh…"

"Or not, I'm just tossing out ideas here princess." Deeks said trying not to freak her out.

"Maybe we could… I mean yeah that is the most practical way of doing this. It is easier than trying to split the costs of everything like groceries and gas and everything else. When are you getting your car fixed?" She asked.

"I took it in and she's finally bit the dust, so I'll be looking for a new car." He said.

"You could get one from Hetty now that you're an agent. You don't have to pay for it then." She said.

"Why didn't I think of that?" He asked himself out loud.

"So do you want to go to the bank tomorrow?" She asked

"Sure, I need to call my landlord and let her know I moved out." He said.

They decided to go to bed early that night with everything they were going to be doing the next day.

The next morning they got ready for the day before heading to the financial department of NCIS so they could get permission and backstopping to merge their bank accounts. Thankfully that branch was completely separate from anyone they saw on a daily basis. They had decided not to let anyone but Hetty know for the time being that they were living together.

After taking care of the difficult part, they headed over to their bank to complete the process of combining their bank accounts. It took a while but they were finally done with everything just before noon. They went downtown for lunch and ate at an outdoor café in their favorite area.

"Now there's no fighting over who pays the bill at restaurants" Deeks said as he paid the bill.

"I guess not." Kensi said as they held hands and walked through the downtown area. They stopped at a couple of their favorite shops and bought a few things before heading back to the car. They'd called Deeks' landlord and after this month, the place would no longer be under his name.

After driving home, they'd decided to put the bills into both of their names, so they called all of the companies and put both of their names on the bills so that it would match their bank account.

They were having the team over the next weekend, which they realized would require some explanation for why Deeks' recliner was now in Kensi's living room, but they'd come up with something before then. 


	19. Moving On

The next weekend the team was coming over, and while they'd planned to spend the day down at the beach playing Frisbee and horse shoes and other games, the weather had other plans. It was actually raining in LA, a very rare occurrence.

Instead, they'd decided to do a board game party. It would be something different and probably would be fun.

This was the first time since Christmas the whole team would be together and it was the first time since Kensi and Deeks had become a couple also.

"What do you guys want to play first?" Deeks asked Sam, Callen and Eric. They finally settled on Headbandz. Kensi walked over to the dining room table where her male coworkers were currently sitting with cards on their heads.

Callen was a crayon

Sam was a goat

Eric was a piece of toast

And Deeks was a hammer

Kensi pulled out her phone and discreetly took a few pictures of the guys before going over and standing behind Deeks, as there weren't any seats left.

"Am I food?" Callen asked.

"Not unless you're one of my daughters at age one." Sam said laughing.

"Or monty." Deeks added, remembering the time at the park he'd let a little girl play with his dog and he ate three of her crayons in the process.

Kensi leaned down over Deeks, draping and crossing her arms across his torso from her position behind him.

The guys continued to try to figure out what they were.

"Am I a hammer?" Deeks asked. After getting an affirmative answer he immediately took off his headband and looked over at Kensi who hadn't moved from her position on his shoulder. He couldn't be happier to have her in his life.

"I'd ask what my prize was for winning, but I think I already won." He said looking up at Kensi still.

Kensi kissed his cheek in reply. "You're so cheesy." She said, but her smile betrayed her annoyed tone.

"And you love me for it." He reminded her.

"I guess so." She replied still smiling.

"This is still weird to me." Callen said motioning to them.

"They're just so sickeningly sweet, it's weird seeing Kensi all lovey dovey with him." Sam agreed.

"Guys, we're right here." Kensi replied.

"Yeah, we see that." Eric added.

Michelle walked over to Sam and hit him on the arm. "Don't make fun of them Samuel. Maybe you should take a few pointers from Marty, I think they're adorable and you've lost your touch. I think you're forgetting we were like that at one point." She said.

Deeks just gave Sam a smug smile as he pulled Kensi around him to sit on his lap so she didn't have to stand. Callen still looked moderately freaked out. Then the doorbell rang.

Kensi stood up to go answer it. Deeks admired her again, she was wearing a dark green a symmetrical dress that was longer in the back than the front and was made of lace. It hugged her in the right places and he was glad he was allowed to appreciate it now. She'd paired it with a wide brown belt and a cropped jean jacket that stopped just below the belt in the back.

"Hello, Ms. Blye."

"Hetty, I… welcome, here can I take your jacket?" Kensi offered as she looked back at Deeks who just shrugged. They'd invited her but figured she would have other obligations as she usually did. Hetty handed Kensi her jacket that Kensi then hung up in the coat closet near the door.

Kensi walked back and reclaimed her seat on Deeks lap while Hetty went to the living area and sat with Nell and Michelle and the girls who were playing with their Wii U that they'd been allowed to bring.

"Why is Deeks chair here?" Callen asked.

Kensi answered with the reply they'd planned on using. "He's here for movie nights a lot so he just moved it here." Callen seemed to accept the answer and continued to try to guess his card while Kensi and Deeks snacked on the veggie tray they'd made that morning.

"Are you planning on redoing that bathroom soon?" Sam asked as he walked back to the dining room from the bathroom. He'd figured his card out while Kensi was answering the door.

"Yeah, we just did the kitchen so next on the list is the bathroom, the kitchen wasn't much better, and I have to look at it more." Kensi replied.

"Good, cause it looks like you let my daughters design it right now. I didn't know they ever even made purple bathroom fixtures. It never should have happened." He said.

Kensi had to agree with him there. They weren't a nice shade of purple either. It was more of a greyish purple.

"So, is that all you're doing to the house then, it doesn't seem like it's in that bad of shape. You said it needed work." Sam asked.

"Why don't I just show you guys the rest of the house." Kensi offered.

They all stood and followed her and Deeks to the hall. "This is the master bedroom and the master bath is right there. It was already renovated." She started. They all looked around before moving on. "this is the guest room… And this is the other bedroom that I'm using as an office/storage area." She said.

"It's a nice place, Kens. And it's really close to the beach and work. You got lucky." Callen said as they headed back to the dining room. Callen pulled Sam back. "there was a bill in the office with both of their names on it."

"No." Sam argued.

"I'm serious, go look." Callen said. His friend looked back in the office really quickly and sure enough there was a water bill addressed to Mr. Martin Deeks and Ms. Kensi Blye. He joined Callen in the kitchen where he was picking at some appetizers.

"They've been together a month!" He was shocked that they'd already moved in together.

"I know, but I guess it's working." Callen replied.

"Let's ask them about it." Sam said as they walked back into the main room fully.

"So, Deeks, Kensi, how long have you two been living together?" Callen asked as he sat down.

The room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop, or at least all the little noises on the girls' game.

"What makes you think we're living together?" Kensi asked from her position on Deeks' lap again. Everyone had taken their original seats in the intention of starting a new game.

"We saw the bill on the desk in the office that was addressed to both of you. Plus I keep seeing stuff that was at Deeks' place before… Like the chair, the picture on the shelf over there, he has all the shoes I've ever seen him wear in the closet over there, and there was a men's razor in the master bathroom…. Come on guys, did you really think you could hide this?" Callen finished.

"Well, we were kind of hoping to keep it a secret for a little while, but apparently that's not possible when you work with professional snoops, so yes, we are living together." Deeks answered, slightly annoyed.

"You guys don't have to hide stuff from us, it's not a big deal really, you guys have known each other for four years now, it's not that big of a surprise to us that you're living together, although a month is pretty soon to move in together."

"Well, officially that's when we moved in and transferred all the bills to go to our joint bank account… but he started unofficially living here the night of our first date." Kensi replied.

"He what?" Callen and Sam asked at the same time.

"Well, it was kind of a gradual thing. We'd grab some of his stuff he thought he'd need for the next day and then it kind of progressed until last week I went to his place for the first time in a month and realized he had a total of four boxes of belongings left and that chair. So yeah, we're living together now." Kensi answered.

"Wow, okay then. That's a pretty big step for anyone and I can't say either of us called it happening so soon, but congratulations guys." Sam said. He honestly was surprised that Kensi was willing to do all of this with her commitment phobia she had, but it was obvious that they trusted each other and that was all that mattered now.

They had moved in together (Temporarily), moved out, and then moved in together officially. Now they could move on with their lives... Together.

**THE END- REVIEW PLEASE**

**DON'T WORRY, I'M ALREADY WORKING ON A SEQUEL TO THIS!**  
Let me know what you want to see happen in the future!


	20. Author's Note

I will be posting a new story called Moving Forward that takes place a few years after where this story lets off:)


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